


TWO

by Solstarin



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 13:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17898992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Solstarin/pseuds/Solstarin
Summary: Inspired by Sleeping At Last's "Two".





	TWO

**Author's Note:**

> Go support the artist!! I've been listening to his music since "In The Embers" appeared in a Criminal Minds outro FOREVER ago, and I've been in love ever since tbh. He is releasing the second half of his flagship project, "ATLAS", and every single song is phenomenal. You can find him on youtube and at the following link: 
> 
> www.sleepingatlast.com

Loki didn’t know he ended up here. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn’t even realize he had wandered from the training arena to Y/N’s door until her voice called from within, _“come on in!”_ Had he knocked?

Rather than be a coward and an idiot and turn to flee, he steeled himself and turned the handle.

Her space was as comfortable and inviting as ever, but the soft golden light from her lamps and the assortment of cozy rugs and throw pillows couldn’t compare to the welcoming eyes of Y/N. 

“Loki!” she exclaimed, the look on her face so bright that he could do nothing but stare, enraptured. “I haven’t seen you in a while! Come in, make yourself at home.” 

He slapped a cordial smile on his face and hoped she couldn’t tell his heart rate had increased significantly as she greeted him, extending a hand to lead him in. He noticed her stop herself from leaning in about an arm's length away, but her expression didn't change.

“You look a little tired,” she remarked. “When did you last eat? Before you remind me, I know Asgardians don’t really work the way humans do. But I also know they’ve got you working some kind of training program out there, and that must be exhausting.” 

“I can manage,” he said, and then wished he felt comfortable enough to tell her the truth- he _was_ exhausted, not only physically, but mentally, and emotionally. 

“Let me put on some tea,” she suggested, and her hand brushed his, causing a shock to surge up his spine. “You can come sit at the counter if you want.”

He followed her to the kitchen and perched himself on a bar stool, watching her busy herself with tidying the counters. “Sorry it’s a mess,” she mused. “I haven’t gotten around to cleaning up from my baking last night. The, ah, cookies are in that jar by the wall, there, if you want one.” 

As it so often happened in her presence, Loki found he had nothing to say. The air around them stilled as she bustled around the kitchen, and his chest bubbled with words that wouldn’t come past his lips. To save the encounter from becoming _more_ awkward, if nothing else, he managed to force out a question.

“How are you faring?” 

Y/N chuckled breathlessly, and brushed the question aside with a handful of flour. “Ah, same old with me. What have you been up to? I hardly see you anymore. The boys aren’t being too hard on you, are they?” She paused and turned to face him, her expression set. “Tell me if they are, I’ll set them straight.”

He shook his head, a smile stealing his lips at her thoughtfulness. “I’m quite alright.” 

She peered at him for a moment longer before accepting his answer and returning to her tidying. “If you say so. If they ever are, let me know. I’ll pummel some courtesy into ‘em.” Her eyes twinkled as she pounded a fist into her palm, creating a small cloud of flour. 

“I will keep it in mind.” 

Satisfied, Y/N finished her tidying and set a pot of water on the stove. She turned to her cookie jar, and spoke as she retrieved two of the pastries.

“I know you said you’d be fine, but Asgard doesn’t have my great-gramma’s chocolate chip cookies, and you have my guarantee that they make everything better.” 

The look in her eyes was something he couldn’t refuse. She grinned as he relented and accepted the treat, and she dug into her own. He nibbled, glancing around her counter and wishing he weren’t such a blithering idiot.

“Now,” she started, her voice changing slightly. “Tell me how you’re really feeling.” 

Loki, taken slightly aback by her sudden and forward question, swallowed a little too hard and suppressed a cough. Y/N, unfazed, turned to pour him a glass of water, which he accepted gratefully. Once he got control of his breath, he spoke.

“Beg your pardon?” 

She smiled at him, warm, attentive, and painfully lovely, and tapped her chest with one finger. “Empath, remember? You walked in here with this big ol’ stormcloud over your head, pretending like it’s not there.” Her face changed, her beautiful smile turning down. “You know you can talk to me, right? I’m not a healer just out there.” 

Loki lowered his hands to the counter and glared at the cookie. He knew he should have bailed when he first realized where he was. Of course she would be able to read through him. By now, any of the Tower could tell something was off, empath or no. He sighed-- he was trapped, now, and what was the harm in confiding in her a little? Just enough to get her off his back. 

“I... admit I am tired.” 

Y/N remained quiet, waiting for him to elaborate. 

“This is... not what I’m used to. It has been trying to... to get across to the team. I have been participating in their glorified brawls for months, but I am still treated as nothing more than a dastardly villain. To see Thor interact so freely with them, and to be so cut off, even as I am practically prostrating myself out there -- which is humiliating, might I add -- to-- to say it’s disheartening would be an understatement. I understand their reservations, believe me, _I_ would not trust me if our positions were reversed, but I cannot seem to convince anyone of my reform. I don’t know what to do to show them that I mean well, or, at least, that I don’t mean ill. I find that I wish I could consult my mother, and then I remember that it is _my fault_ she-- ” 

He caught himself, suddenly, with the shocking sting of tears welling in his eyes, realizing how much he’d inadvertently laid bare. He swiftly schooled his expression and crushed the festering emotion in his chest.

“Forgive me. I didn't mean to get out of hand.”

He refused to meet Y/N’s eyes, and flinched when she slid her fingers over his. She pried his hands from the fists he hadn’t realized he’d made, and forced his palms open, laying her hands flat atop them. 

“Don’t apologize. Talking it out is healthy.”

The tea kettle began to whistle, and she retreated to fetch it. He found his hands, of their own accord, trying to follow her. He sat in silence, struggling to keep his composure, as she fixed their tea, and placed a steaming cup before him. She took up his hands again and held them tightly, but didn’t say anything yet. He watched amber swirl around the tea bag, sweetening the water.

Y/N broke the silence after a long minute. “Loki.” 

Her tone made him lift his eyes. “It’s okay if you can’t find the right words yet. You don’t have to be perfect. It’ll take time out there, they all have issues the same as you. We’re all a little broken, on this team. I would know.” she smiled softly, but it did little for his mood. “And we’re all trying to work it out at the same time. They’re really not the best at making friends.” 

She shook their joined hands gently, for emphasis. “But I am here to help you. Nothing that it said in this apartment ever leaves this apartment. If it’ll help you to offload, this is a safe place to do it.”

“I don’t want to weigh on you,” he admitted, quietly, after a long moment of silence. She huffed a soft laugh, but it wasn’t condescending. 

“This is my job, Loki. I am here _so_ you can weigh on me. I can take it.” She rubbed her thumbs over his. “Listen. I love you, alright? Just like I love those crazy hooligans out there. Nothing they say can change that.”

He stared at their hands, not daring to speak yet lest his voice betray how much turmoil he felt. Y/N continued, her voice soft, as if he were an animal that would bolt at any second.

“If you need to breathe, you can always come here. My door is never locked. If you just need to make a cup of tea and sit on the couch, or come wake me up to talk. I’m here for you. I love you. No strings attached.” 

Still, silence. She came around the counter and gathered him into her arms without another word. He melted into her embrace, bringing his arms up to loosely hold her back. Beneath his ear, he could feel more than hear her heartbeat beneath her warm skin. His eyes slid closed, and one of her hands smoothed over a wisp of hair at the nape of his neck. He lost track of time until her voice hummed through her chest, and his cheekbone.

“It’s late. You should get some sleep. I think it’ll help.”

Suddenly, he was frightened of being alone. He knew well enough that his body was starved for touch, he didn’t know it would make him feel this panicked. Almost without thinking, he tightened his arms. He opened his mouth to speak and thought better of it, then second-guessed again and begged, “May I stay?” 

Her breath puffed the crown of his head. “Of course. I have a couch and a guest bedroom, take your pick.” 

Loki couldn’t look her in the eyes to voice his next request, and his voice came out no more than a whine. “Could I... stay with you?” 

To her credit, she didn’t miss a beat. “Sure. We can build a pillow fort and gossip about Tony’s scandals like teenage girls.” Y/N pulled away to look him in the eye, and he was dismayed to see her image blur with unshed tears. She brought her hands from around his shoulders to hold his face, and her thumbs caught the tears that fell when he blinked. “How does that sound?” 

It was all he could do to nod. Y/N pressed feather-light kisses to his eyelids, and retreated fully.

“Drink your tea,” she instructed. “I’ll get Fort Y/N started.” 

~

About an hour later, he was sitting, surrounded by couch cushions and various pillows, beneath a canopy of blankets. Y/N pulled down tapestries from the walls to add to their burrow, and ended up having to stack a couple chairs to make the roof high enough for Loki’s lanky frame to fit comfortably. 

He was feeling a little less somber, thanks in no small part to the light banter Y/N kept going, and the purposeful brushes of her fingers every so often. 

He watched her as she lifted the makeshift door and ducked inside, her arms full of the sheets from her bed. 

  
“Alright,” she announced. “I think we’re all set.” 

She dumped the load of blankets on his head, drawing a laugh to her lips. He found himself smiling as he got untangled, and it only grew when she sat beside him, giggling as she fixed the hair that had been tousled. Even in the dimmed light inside their fort, he could see her eyes sparkle.

“Feeling a little better?” 

Loki breathed a small sigh. “Yes. Thank you.” 

Y/N shot him a wink and arranged the blankets around them. “Told you. Healers work all hours.” 

His fingers twitched as she settled in, and he picked at his hands awkwardly. She looked at him for a moment, bemused, before she opened her arms in welcome. 

He nearly fell into her, resting his head on her chest and coiling his arms tightly around her torso. She didn’t make any move to protest as he slung a long leg over hers, and simply adjusted her arm beneath his head so they could both be comfortable. 

He heaved a heavy sigh just as she did, and it made her chuckle again. Her fingers brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear, tucked behind his knee to fold their legs together, and came to rest on his bicep. She rested her cheek against his head, and Loki’s chest filled with warmth. 

They remained in companionable silence for a while, before his mind posed him a question. Feeling much more relaxed, he relayed it to Y/N. 

“Do you really love me?” 

Beneath his ear, her heart jumped, but her voice was smooth. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now, you should sleep.” 

Maybe it was just his exhaustion speaking, or her sheer selfless kindness feigned emotion in him, but as he drifted off, he murmured one last confession. 

“I love you, too.” 


End file.
